Convictions
by Sandstorm3D
Summary: For the Girls and Boys, becoming friends was hard. Staying friends will be even harder. The fight's not over for our heroes as they navigate the murky waters of politics, powers, and a struggling new world order. A hidden villain isn't making things any easier. Will their convictions be enough to see them through? Updates every other Saturday!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Duty Bound**

 _Blossom's POV_

The city of New Townsville! A shining metropolis that wowed the masses and humbled even the most skilled architect! It's tall skyscrapers defied the laws of physics with their twists and turns. The bright city lights reflected dozens of times across the slick glass paned towers and showered the streets below with multi-colored rainbows.

It was truly the most beautiful city on earth!

Or at least, that's what they wanted their visitors to think.

Blossom drew her brown coat closer to her as a strong gust blew past. Her long red hair tried its best to escape the prim ponytail she had bound it in. She was glad she had decided on such a quote unquote unprofessional hair style. Free and flowing might have been pretty but it was terrible for guard duty, even the glorified guard duty she was currently doing.

Her eyes scanned the crowd as they packed together in front of the platform on which she stood. She sat on a chair placed on the far right corner, but it offered her a good view of the masses. There weren't very many, perhaps only four hundred people or so. This was a controlled event. Press only.

They wouldn't want any rabble rousers disrupting the ceremony now would they?

"Not only is this a museum dedicated to our illustrious heroes who fought against insurmountable odds, this place is for the people who persevered and survived the horrible reign of the dictator Mojo Jojo!"

The booming voice came from the man at the center of the stage, President Marcus McCoy. His bravado was perfect for the type of crowd they had today. The press loved him. They also loved the Powerpuff Girls, which explained Blossom's current position on stage.

Her part to play was twofold. One, sit pretty and look good for the cameras. Two, make sure nothing terrible happened that would look bad for the cameras. Simple, no?

If only.

Another gust of wind flew by and nearly blew off the President's hat. He managed to stuff it down on his hair in a dignified manner. Then again, that described pretty much everything President McCoy did. He was dignity personified. When one thought of a man that fit the presidential mold, McCoy was the one you thought of. Blossom only hoped that she too displayed the same sort of confidence he exuded.

They needed to put their best foot forward today. The press had to see only the best of what the Resistan- _ahem_ the Alliance had to offer.

Unfortunately, the state of city was rather hard to hide which was why this ceremony had to go off without a hitch. There might be riots going on blocks away, but here behind the large museum walls there was only the calm boredom of a ceremony that had dragged on a little too long.

But if Blossom's mental clock was correct, it should be wrapping up right about…

"And so it is with great pleasure, I get to officially declare the Museum of Victory open!"

Now.

The crowd cheered with applause as President McCoy snapped his gaudy pair of giant scissors down on a large red ribbon. The fabric danced in the wind and would have flown away if not for the quick reflexes of several stage hands.

The small snafu went unnoticed by the crowd as the series of double doors behind the stage were thrown open. The President and his staff led the way into the gigantic museum as his security started siphoning reporters through.

On his way to the doors, President McCoy gave Blossom a smile and a pat on the shoulder. "This museum wouldn't be possible without you and your sisters Blossom. Thank you for your hard work."

"My pleasure sir." She replied in turn.

The gaggle of state officials exited the stage, passed through the entrance, and were lost to her sight. She and her partner on stage stayed where they were. They were on guard duty remember?

"The Museum of Victory? What an absolutely mediocre name. Pray tell, who came up with such an austere and magnificent title?" Her partner murmured.

Blossom tore her eyes away from the crowd and shot Brick a small glare. "The President did. So you should probably show some respect. It's not _that_ bad."

"But it's not that _good_ either. Someone should tell him to leave the christening to the professionals. Someone like maybe his personal assistant?" He replied throwing a pointed look at her.

Blossom rolled her eyes. "You know I'm not his personal assistant Brick. I work for Vice President Bellum and that's it."

"Could have fooled me." He replied dryly as he returned his eyes to the masses of people forming lines to enter the museum. He did not look impressed with all the pomp and circumstance surrounding them. The chill wind didn't even seem to bother him in his nicely creased leather jacket.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come off it. He pulls you into so many meetings as a 'consultant' that you might as well be working for him. Tell me, when's he going to elect you to his cabinet? You'd get full support from everyone in the city you know. Then together you could spread peace, love, and all that other bullshit he spouts."

Blossom frowned at the redhead beside her. The insinuation that she was the President's lackey was not lost on her. Brick was a surly bastard at times to be sure, but even this was a little more venomous than normal for him. In fact, she was inclined to call him pouty right now.

"Look Brick, I know you don't want to be here and neither do I, but we have to. So suck it up and stop being such a grump. Just because you hate being in the public eye doesn't give you a free pass to act like a petulant child."

"Well it should." His pout grew even more peevish as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Now you're just acting like Butch when he doesn't get his way."

"I am not."

"Are too."

"Am no-" He cut himself off mid-retort and snapped his mouth shut. A small blush dusted his cheeks and he pulled at the baseball cap sitting on his head.

Blossom smiled lightly at the move. It was fitting to see him in a hat.

He had cycled through a number of them since he lost his old one in the blast that nearly took off his face. The red cap he currently wore didn't look much like its predecessor, not with the thick black stripe going down the middle of it. He said it felt similar though which meant she had done well when she gave it to him for his birthday two months ago.

He hadn't taken it off since so she was counting that as a victory.

Blossom let her smile fall away and tried to catch his eye. "Come on, what's bugging you? We only have to be here a few hours. Even you, Mr. Antisocial, can handle that."

"Maybe, as long as none of those _reporters_ pester me for tabloid fodder. I swear to all that is evil if I see one picture of me on those stupid gossip magazines tomorrow…" He trailed off with a glare towards the crowd.

A smile turned Blossom's mouth again. "Oh so you read gossip magazines in your free time? Huh, never would have pegged you for that sort of literature Brick."

His glare snapped to her and her smile grew wider.

"That's not what I meant and you know it Blossy."

"I know but I was specifically told not to let you intimidate the press. Glaring at them counts as such. And hey, if you don't want to appear in any tabloids, I'd drop the glare. From their perspective, it probably looks like we're flirting right now." She finished with a big, fake grin.

Instantly his glare dropped and his sullen expression slid into something more stoic.

She couldn't keep from chuckling at his reaction, which of course only made his glare return. Then he realized what he was doing again. Letting out an aggravated growl, he turned away from her all together.

Poor Brick, she really shouldn't tease him so. She knew how he felt about being amongst the public. He was a Rowdyruff Boy, a former villain, and on top of it all, a recluse. He'd much rather be in the lab with the Professor than out here.

She could understand that, but orders were orders. The President wanted all the 'Heroes of the Last Battle' here for the grand opening of the museum. It'd be a slight not to come out and participate.

Plus the military needed all the help they could get for the event. There were a lot of people here and making sure nothing went wrong was key.

Blossom returned her gaze back towards the dwindling crowd. They filed into the museum in a surprisingly orderly fashion. The gardens in which the stage was setup in were already more than half empty. Honestly, she hadn't expected that.

Gatherings of hundreds of people were rarely so organized or civil…or maybe she was just cynical now? That was a strong possibility. The sheer volume of protests that had occurred over the last six months had given her a dim view on society as a whole.

Why were people so eager to protest the institution that was trying to help them? It didn't make any sense, although she worked in the government. Maybe that gave her a detached perspective from the citizens of New Townsville and the world at large?

She wasn't sure. It was a possibility. But then again also were riots breaking out. That never shed a great light on any cause, just or not.

Either way, she had to be here and make sure nothing bad happened. Even now there were marches going on. One was happening right here in the city as a matter of fact.

Would they dare march down the avenue that bordered the museum's premise? If that happened there would be an inevitable clash with security. The bad press to follow would ruin the entire event and papers everywhere would proclaim the Alliance's incompetency.

Wouldn't that be a PR mess? Given the many the Alliance had suffered in the last few months, she really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

They were trying their best but new governments were rarely without their hiccups. There was so much to do and never enough time to do it. Security. Health. Education. Infrastructure. Jobs. Foreign Relations. It was all so much.

She would admit they were doing better than most of the other countries reestablishing themselves after Mojo's rule. President McCoy had planned for this for ten long years. He and his cabinet had better have had an operational plan in place.

Still the human factor was taking them all by surprise. Yes, there were fewer health services and hospitals available to the population of New Townsville than they needed. And yes, there was only one over crowded school that was still trying to figure out its curriculum. And yes, there was barely a police force and a heavy military presence to keep the peace. And yes, there were no real jobs besides government ones available. And yes-

You know what? There were a lot a problems and she knew that. But every day they were working to create solutions. If the citizens would only see it that way things would be so much better.

The unfortunate truth was that if things in the city and the surrounding nation didn't improve soon, they would be poised to fall into a mess of chaos again. And in chaos, evil thrived.

She couldn't let that happen. Not after all she had done to get rid of it in the first place. Blossom was dedicated to the Alliance and she was going to see it succeed. And if part of that meant she had to pose as a PR dummy to the cameras, so be it.

"Blossom!" The sound of her name drew the Puff out of her thoughts and she looked down to see an eager camera man smiling at her. "A picture for The Telegraph?"

"Of course." She answered demurely.

A sly elbow to the side got Brick to look their way as the reporter focused his camera on them both. She gave the camera a happy grin as the flash went off.

Brick did not.

"Thank you very much!" The reporter called out as he moved back into the crowd and disappeared inside.

"You could have attempted a smile."

"I don't smile." Brick emphasized that point with a glare. "Especially not for cameras."

Blossom sighed and shook her head. Somethings never changed.

Instead of fighting with him, she let her gaze wander over the masses and back towards the momentous building that celebrated their great victory. It was truly a sight to see and that was saying something in a city like New Townsville.

Amongst the metropolis of skyscrapers and towers, the museum stood out due to an entirely unorthodox reason: its gardens.

They were truly wondrous. The museum took up a whole city block but a little more than half of that was dedicate to its gardens. And yes, there was more than one. The main gardens encircled the building. Trees and bushes of all different kinds lined the museum's exterior walls while flower lined paths cut through the grass in sweeping patterns. The paths all led to the gleaming white marbled entrance which was a sight in and of itself.

But the flowers. Those truly took ones breath away. She couldn't name half of them. Bubbles probably could, but she herself was at a loss. They were gorgeous to look at though. It would be a miracle if they survived today with the hundreds of feet trampling about.

Too bad those feet couldn't trample the other staple to the gardens: the many topiaries.

Ugh. Just the thought of them made Blossom want to hide in her jacket. They were so embarrassing.

While the idea of having living statues to symbolize the new life and continued growth of humanity was nice, Blossom really wished they hadn't been made in the likeness of the Resistance's most famous members. It was terribly tacky and downright mortifying.

She couldn't help but cringe every time she passed the one dedicated to her. Yes, there was one made in her likeness and yes, it was in the main garden by the entrance along with the other ones dedicated to her sisters.

And yes, it was utterly humiliating.

She avoided it whenever possible. If it wasn't a felony crime to vandalize the museum property she would have asked Buttercup to cut it down in the middle of the night already. But it was unfortunately.

Blossom could do nothing but suck it up and avoid it as best she could. She bet she'd get several reporters asking her to take a picture with it today. Oh Maker preserve her.

"Platform Two, status check. Over."

The crisp voice coming from her radio snapped Blossom out of her thoughts.

"HQ, this is Platform Two. All reporters have moved into the building. Garden is clear. Over."

"Roger that Platform Two. Keep an eye open. Over and out."

Blossom let the button on her com go and shifted her weight. Then she noticed the side long glance Brick was giving her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Right. What is it?" She pressed, not believing him for a second.

"It's nothing." He tried to play it off, looking back over the gardens.

Blossom turned towards him and arched a brow. "Brick, We've been through dozens of life or death situations. Like it or not, I can read your face. Now what's bugging you?"

He let out a short sigh, almost a grunt. "Fine, but remember you pushed. I was just thinking, how long are we going to be stuck doing this sort of shit?"

Blossom blinked in surprise. It usually took more prodding to get him to open up. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. This." He waved a hand around them. "This posturing for the media and the guard duty and being in the public eye. This is bullshit. When will it end? I thought we paid our dues when we took down Mojo, but since then there's just been more and more crap piled on. Last time I check we were both retired from the army."

Blossom grimaced and bit down on her lip. "We didn't retire Brick. We were put on reserve duty."

"And who decided that? Not I." He shot back with some bite. "Not one damn time was I given the choice. Instead it's the same song and dance. I'm still playing the role of muscled stooge for these stuffy suits."

"Brick, you work in the government's science division. You'd be working for them regardless of your military status."

He huffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah but I chose to go into the science division. I didn't choose to be a guard dog that could be brought out and displayed as a show of power when Mr. President felt like it. I'm getting sick of this Blossom. Six damn months. That's how long we've been used."

It was her turn to sigh as she looked him in the eye. Not this conversation again. It seemed like it was cropping up every few weeks now.

"We're not being used. We're helping provide a sense of stability for the citizens of our nation and the world as a whole. We took down Mojo and we have a responsibility to make sure that chaos doesn't erupt again and put us right back where we started."

"No we don't! We corrected our mistake and that's it."

"How can you be so callous?" She said before she could stop herself.

Damn, she shouldn't have responded like that. This was quickly turning from a conversation into an argument.

"How can you be such a bleeding heart? You spent ten years of your life doing what the Resistance told you. Aren't you sick of being a lapdog?"

Blossom gritted her teeth and tried to push back her anger at the comment. Brick was just upset and he was taking it out on her. She wasn't going to fall for it.

"I'm not a lapdog Brick."

"Well you sure act like it. Every time McCoy says jump, you ask how high. When are you going to stop serving other people and live for yourself?"

"I live for myself!" She growled, her anger getting the best of her. They had been over this so many times already. Why was he pushing it? Now of all times?

"Oh so you chose to be here today?" He shot back with a glare.

Blossom raised a finger and pointed it at him to emphasis her words. "I _choose_ to protect the city I _fought_ to make. If you felt one _ounce_ of compassion for anyone other than yourself, you'd see that I'm _right_!"

"Except you're not!" He barked. "Excuse me for thinking that saving the world was enough. Here I thought that deposing an evil dictator would actually let us be free to do whatever the hell we wanted afterward."

"Well that was ridiculously naïve of you wasn't it? Then again, you wouldn't know about responsibility since you've never been a hero before have you? " She snapped before she could think about her words.

….

Oh shit.

The silence that settled between was more than uncomfortable. It was downright painful.

Shit, shit, _shit._

Why had she let herself get riled up like that? This argument was always the same yet they had been falling into it more and more recently. Responsibility versus self-autonomy. It was the crux of it all.

The truth was, she agreed with Brick. She really did. She had already given more than half her life to the cause. She too was tired of being told what to do and where to go. All she wanted was a break.

But none of them got that.

Who knew deposing an evil tyrant was only the beginning of the work when it came to making the world a better place? Setting up a replacement government was a lot harder than anyone had imagined it would be.

Six months in and there was still a tentative balance. The riots and unrest were supposed to be over by now but they still persisted as weekly events. The other governments of the world were forming and toppling every other month or so it seemed. Theirs could be next!

That didn't even begin to cover the terrorists and gangs and warlords running rampant. They sought power and wealth and no one really stood in their way. The provincial governments were hard pressed to keep their own citizens under control. They had no hopes of stopping villains that sought to fill the vacuum left behind by Mojo's downfall.

It was pure chaos on a global level. To use a term Buttercup was most fond of, it was a giant cluster fuck.

And Blossom was stuck in the middle of it all. It was wearing down on her and everyone else. Things were supposed to be easy after all the fighting, but that wasn't the case.

Goodness. She just wanted a break. She _needed_ it. Yet she couldn't stop. There was always something that needed to be done.

Snapping at her friends wasn't one of those things though.

Blossom closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. "Brick I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

A hand landed on her shoulder. The shock of it made her open her eyes and look up. Brick looked down at her with regret painted on his face. This was rare. The Rowdyruff hated physical interaction of any sort. For him to initiate it was even more unusual.

"It's okay Blossom. I shouldn't have said anything. We're all dissatisfied with the way things are right now and we're all stressed and tired." Here he cleared his throat and looked away. "I'm…sorry too. For being an ass, I mean. We've had this argument before and I knew how it was going to turn out but I pushed. I'm a jerk."

"You're not a jerk. I'm a jerk." She replied with self-deprecating smile.

"Alright, how about we're both jerks and we both let the issue go huh?"

She let her smile turn true and gave him a nod. He flashed his patented smirk back at her.

It was a moment of understanding…and that moment was then abruptly ruined by the flash of a camera.

Both of them turned to see the same reporter from earlier grinning at the duo like a cat that had just caught a mouse. "Damn I don't know what you guys were talking about but that picture's going to be front page material gold baby."

Blossom was quick to grab onto Brick's jacket as he took an angry step towards the man. The redhead was pissed and it was quite easy to tell. The reporter noticed the sudden turn in the air and back peddled with a frightened look.

"Sir, you should go inside with the other reporters. I'm sure there are much better photo opportunities to be had." Blossom said with a strained smile as she pushed her way in front of Brick. He still wore a glare and that glare could make even Butch flinch.

"Ye-yeah. I'll, I'll do that." The report blurted out before scurrying away.

"That son of a bitch." Brick growled as Blossom let him go.

"Now, now you can't blame the guy for trying to do his job."

"No, but I could track him down, break his camera, and then threaten his life." He replied, straightening his jacket.

"That's too much work and we both know it." Blossom said, calling out his bluff.

Brick favored her with a deadpan stare before sniffing and dropping the subject. The Pink Puff smiled as he scratched at his scarred face.

It had healed remarkably well from the blast damage done to it in the final battle. An explosion like that would have killed a normal man, but Brick had survived. The scar remained true, but wounds like that never truly went away.

Patches of red blotted the otherwise pale skin on the left half of his face. Almost vein like mounds of scar tissue trailed up his cheek and framed his eye. There were patches of hair still struggling to grow back but for the most part he looked remarkably normal.

At least to her he did. The tabloids and newspapers had other unpleasant remarks about it which was one of the main reasons Brick hated them so.

The scrutiny him and his brothers had undergone the first few months was horrible. The newspaper had questioned everything: their motives, their past, their relationships with the Girls. Hell! Even how they looked and what they wore!

It was ridiculous. Unfortunately, it was still ongoing too.

Here's hoping "The Telegraph" painted Brick in a better light with that picture.

Noticing her unintentional scrutiny, Brick shifted his weight uncomfortably and turned his head away.

"So um…what are we doing now? Continue guarding this place until the event's over?"

Blossom blushed pink at being caught staring and hurriedly looked over at the empty garden.

"Um. I think we're supposed to stay here? Yeah, um yeah. That's what we're supposed to do. Unless there's an incident or something."

"…Cool."

An awkward silence hung between them for a long few minutes as they stood next to one another. Blossom struggled to think of something to say but nothing came to mind. She couldn't stop mentally berating herself for staring at him so long.

It shouldn't have been awkward right? They were friends. They could stare at each other and it not be weird…right?

Obviously not if this was the result. Ugh. Why was she so emotional today? Oh who was she kidding, she was emotional most days. The underlying stress of helping running a government made her so. She was usually just better at controlling it.

"I'm glad Butch and the Banshee were able to make it back in time for museum opening." Brick spoke up, breaking the silence.

"You are?" She blurted out, reaching for anything that would put the odd moment behind them.

"Yeah. I shouldn't be the only one suffering this lame grand opening." He replied with a smirk.

Blossom let out a laugh as the last of the awkwardness fell away. "Ah, yeah that makes more sense now."

He turned to look at her. "You think they're having as much fun as we are?"

She let out another laugh and nodded her head. "Oh yeah. They have door duty. Rest assured they are suffering much more than we are right now. We get to be on this stage, but they're down in amongst the masses."

A smirk lifted Brick's lips. "Good. That brat pranked me before he left. He deserves punishment."

"And you deem that a worthy punishment?"

"I do. Just the thought of Butch having to answer a hundred different questions being thrown at him from those gossip hungry journalists makes me smile."

The both of them shared a laugh at the thought of Butch being swarmed by paparazzi. He was probably cursing up a storm right now. It would do nothing to help his image in the press but it was a classic Butch thing to do. She'd deal with the fallout later no doubt. For now, she'd laugh about it.

"I'm sure you'll hear about it later, in very vulgar and outrageous terms."

"Eh maybe." He said with a shrug. "I'll probably try and push it off on Boomer though. He actually _likes_ listening. I blame that on your sister's influence."

Blossom smiled and bobbed her head. "I don't know. From what Bubbles tells me, Boomer has always been a good listener. Maybe you just never talked to him enough to find out?"

"And engage another person in conversation? You do remember who you're talking to don't you?" He jested.

Another chuckle escaped her as Blossom shook her head. And this was where things were weird with Brick. One moment could be so completely awkward but then the next everything was totally fine. It was like talking to someone she had known her whole life…yet they had only known each a little over a year.

It was odd. She could still remember when every conversation with Brick was hard fought and she had to pry each word from him as if by force. Now words flew between them easily. There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't talk to the Ruff in some fashion.

Damn, now that she thought about it, she talked to him more than she did her sisters now a days. That wasn't hard to do mind you, what with Buttercup running around the globe putting out threats to national and global security and all. Bubbles was stationed in New Townsville, but she was so busy with her various jobs that it was hard to find time where the blonde wasn't working.

Same could be said for Blossom herself. It did help that Brick worked in the same building as her. Maybe that's all it was. Close proximity usually made friends from the oddest of couples. She and Brick were no exception.

She valued that friendship. All day long she was surrounded by politicians and bureaucrats twice her age if not more so. It was good to have someone close by that was within her same generation. Most young adults like her were working in factories or stores. She had to get friends where she could find them.

And Brick was a pretty good one…when they weren't arguing.

"Hey you see that?" The Ruff's voice drew her attention and Blossom looked towards him.

He nodded towards the museum entrance. "That guy wearing the sunglasses and the bulky coat?"

The Pink Puff scanned the crowd milling by the doors and located the man quickly. He didn't stand out much, but something did draw her eye to him. Blossom squinted as she took in his appearance.

He was of average height, wearing a puffy grey coat with a ballcap and sunglasses on. Now that wouldn't have been unusual…if the sun was actually out. As it stood, the overcast skies were dim and even her sensitive eyes weren't strained in the slightest.

The only reasonable explanation her paranoid mind could come up with was that this guy wanted his face hidden for some reason. Reasons like that were never good.

Blossom flicked on her radio and murmured into it. "HQ, this is Platform Two. We have a suspicious character coming towards Door Three. White male, grey coat, black hat, and sunglasses. Immediate action is advised."

A few seconds later a reply cracked through the com. "Roger that Platform Two. HQ is advised and is sending word to Door Three now."

Blossom turned off her radio and nodded towards her counterpart. "Good eye Brick. That guy is up to no good. Our men are moving to apprehend him now."

Brick frowned as he continued to watch the man get closer to the door way. "You think he's got an explosive of some kind."

A grimace fell across Blossom's face. "Goodness I hope not. I'd much rather have the regular loons who think we're all part of some secret society and want to show the world proof. But if this guy is dangerous, he's heading towards our best defense."

Brick's frown momentarily turned into a savage grin.

"Punk won't know what hit him."

* * *

 _Butch's POV_

"Door Three, suspicious persons entering your domain. White male, grey coat, black hat, sunglasses. Threat level unknown. Take care of it. Back up in route. Over."

The words spoken through his earpiece shocked Butch out of his boredom induced coma and sent a thrill through his veins.

A suspicious person? Hallelujah! The perfect excuse to get away from these damn reporters!

He was much too professional to let a grin split his face but damn if it didn't try. A smirk might have shown but that was it! Schooling his features into something more menacing, he glanced at his partner and gave her a nod.

If Buttercup was excited she didn't let it show. She probably wasn't though. She had become quite the fuddy duddy since being promoted to Major Utonium. Ooo, so special.

Bleh. More like Major Buzzkill.

She still liked to kick ass but now there were rules to think about and such. It made her a drag to be around when they were working. Don't do this Butch, don't do that. No you can't break the terrorist's arm. No you can't do the interrogation.

Rules, rules, and more rules!

Like he had said, bleh. She was technically his commander though so he had to follow her rules. It sucked balls but he'd rather do that than be trapped at some desk job like his dumb brothers.

You'd never see him wear a tie.

"Butch." A harsh whisper came from his counterpart and a glare followed it.

Oh right! Bogey approaching!

Butch straightened up and located the target. He was maybe fifty feet away and fast approaching. He glanced at Buttercup and lifted a brow. She responded with a few quick hand gestures and he nodded back.

Ah yes, the old Bait and Tackle. Butters did the baiting and he did the tackling! Damn he loved that maneuver. Seemed a bit odd to do in such a crowded area but he wasn't one to question an order.

…Unless that last hand sign had meant Escort…Shit. He was still trying to learn all of them. There were so many! It was hard to remember what went with what.

Butters must have seen the confusion on his face cause she let out a sigh and repeated the hand gesture again, more slowly.

Yep. It was Bait and Escort. Damn.

That was much less fun.

The Green Ruff frowned but nodded anyway. Direct orders and all. Butters rolled her eyes but then pointed him off towards the perp.

Great, he was the Bait.

Holding back a groan, Butch put on his best cocky grin and walked right up to the man. "Hey there pal! Bet you were wanting an autograph huh? I could see it a mile away."

He looped an arm around the guys back and turned him around. From the corner of his eye, Butch could see Buttercup motioning to the other guards to surround them.

"Wha? No, no. I uh, don't want an autograph. I'm just trying to get into the museum." The guy sputtered.

Butch gave him an indulgent grin and held up a hand as he pushed him back down the steps. "Dude, it's totally cool to want an autograph. Doesn't matter that you're a grown man. I get it a lot trust me. Besides, why go into the museum when you have a chance to talk to living history right here?"

The man looked super uncomfortable as Butch escorted him down the steps. The last of the press that were filing through the doors seemed to have finally noticed the activity and were turning around to get footage. Butters already had a good six men backing her up as they advanced behind Butch.

He just needed to stall for a few more seconds.

Butch waved his hand in front of the both of them. "Just think of it! Exclusive one on one interview with one of the heroes who took down Mojo Jojo. Do you know how many reporters ask me for that? _Daily?_ "

The dude continued to struggle to get out of Butch's grip, but please. There was no way that was going to happen. He might not have had super strength but he could still toss a man ten yards away. Probably closer to twenty.

"I'm not a reporter though! I don't want an autograph. I just need to get inside! Let me go!" His voice changed from confused to indignant as he realized Butch wasn't letting go to him.

And that of course made Butch hold on even harder.

"Not a reporter huh? Curious to how you got into a press only event then." Butch's tone changed from jovial to menacing as he glared down at the perp.

Puffy Coat realized he slipped up and the panic bled back into his face again. "What? No, no, I meant-"

"It doesn't matter what you meant you're coming with us." Butters interrupted as she came up behind him and seized his arms.

With quick efficiency, the other six guards moved to surrounded them and the man was cuffed. It all happened in less than twenty seconds which Butch was pretty sure that was a record.

The guards did a quick pat down and found only a single pistol and a suicide note. Both were handed off to Buttercup as she moved in the front of the man and looked him square in the eyes.

"I'm only going to ask this once, what were you trying to do and who are you working for?"

Puffy Coat raged against the soldiers holding him tight. The effort he put into getting free was sorta impressive but ultimately futile. If he did manage to shake them Butch was right here to snatch him back. And ain't no way he was getting out of _his_ grip.

"Argh, let me go!"

Butch looked towards Buttercup and raised a brow. "Should I calm him down a bit? A quick punch to the stomach, that's all it'd take."

Butters shook her head. "Nah, last time you did that we had to clean up puke and I am not risking that right now. I just shined these boots."

"Killjoy." Butch muttered as he looked back at their captive.

A solid minute passed by until the man calmed down somewhat. He still occasionally thrashed but at least he wasn't frothing at the mouth anymore. Maybe they could get some information out of him after all.

"Hey! The lady asked you a question." Butch gave him a little shove for good measure.

"I'm not saying anything to you freaks! You deceivers! All you do is lie and pull the puppet strings! We will not be controlled! You hear me?!"

Oh great, a bonafide nut job. Butch frowned with disgust and looked at Butters. "Send him up the river? Let the commander deal with him?"

"Yep. Take him away boys. And for goodness sakes, shut him up. We've already made too much of a scene."

Two of the soldiers holding the man gave Buttercup nods and proceeded to wrestle him across the grass to the mobile command center. The other guards returned to their posts as the Green pair strolled back to their own.

"What a nutcase. I'm surprised he didn't try anything at speech."

Buttercup shook her head. "Too many eyes on the crowd then. Our sniper team would have taken him out the second he did something suspicious. There's going to be another little speech held inside at the memorial later. That would be the better opportunity."

Butch conceded her point with a shrug. "I guess you're right. Who do you think he's working for? Germany?"

"No way. The Prime minister is here and he's a one of our closest allies from what Blossom was telling me."

"Maybe he's part of the radical fringe? I mean, did you hear that accent?"

"He's probably in a separatist organization. There have been a few of them gaining power recently, and from what I hear, they're causing a shit ton of ruckus all across Europe."

Butch frowned. "You mean like 'Humanity Released?'"

It was Buttercup's turn to shrug. "Possibly? Who knows? The boys in Interrogation will figure out the details. The only thing we have to focus on is making sure no _other_ funny business happens today."

"Oh but come on Butters. You gotta admit, it's pretty damn important if we got crazies hoping the pond to come terrorize the _biggest_ ceremony of the Alliance. That's like a whole shit ton of other problems we gotta deal with now."

"Look at it this way Butch." Buttercup said coming to a halt. "Even if this guy is part of 'Humanity Released' or some other type of organization, we're already on the case. We've been scouting those guys for months and plotting their movements."

"Yeah, but we don't have a freaking clue who the leaders are. Every hotshot we think is the head guy turns out to be some lame spokesman that don't know nothing. How can we stop them if we don't know who's leading the bastards?"

"I don't know Butch." Buttercup gave a frustrated sigh. "But it's not our problem right now. When the higher ups figure this mess out, they'll send us and the ATA Squad to go take care of it. Until then, we do as we're told. The important thing is that we stopped him and prevented a press field day."

Butch grimaced and looked over his shoulder at the masses pointing cameras and microphones their way. "I'm not too sure about that, Butters. Fuck, I hate paparazzi."

Buttercup matched his frown with one of her own. "Me too, but look at it this way, it could be worse. You could be wearing a tux."

His face went from disgusted to even more disgusted as he pretended to gag. Or maybe it was real. He couldn't tell. The amount of hate he harbored for formal wear was very real. Thank evil he hadn't been forced into one of those pieces of shit.

He much preferred his regular reserve uniform thank you very much. He would have liked to have been wearing his regular cloths but stupid protocols apparently had to be followed.

At least, that's what General Allen had said when he threatened him this morning.

Just 'cause the guy was _technically_ his boss he thought he had the right to order Butch around. If he didn't have the power to ground him from any tactical operation, Butch would have socked the big guy months ago. As it stood, that was high military offense or some nonsense.

He probably would have laughed it off and punched Butch right back but he wasn't really willing to take that chance. Butters would be pissed at him for getting in the trouble. He was her responsibility afterall.

That still bugged him.

Sure, he was now an official member of the Alliance army, but he still had to have a keeper. He might have had a bad past but he thought he had proven himself with the Last Battle. He had helped take out an evil dictator for evil's sake!

That didn't amount to much in the generals' eyes apparently.

Whatever. He still got to go on the most dangerous and awesome missions. They were with Butters too so that made it cooler. She was a badass, you know, for a Puff. And a plus, Mitch wasn't with them anymore.

Stupid bastard had been promoted to Captain and now led his own section of the ATA Squad. ATA Bravo they were called. Not as good as Alpha but they got the job done, and there were plenty of jobs to do.

Who knew the world would be such a mess after Mojo? Riots all over the globe, warlords running amuck, and terrorists galore. They had been to over thirty different countries in the last six months. Thirty! It was just work, work, work for him and Butters.

He wasn't saying he didn't like it. He got paid to professionally beat people up. No better job for him than that. But still, a vacation would have been nice. Hopefully they'd get some down time after this stupid ass event was over. Speaking of which…

"Come on." Buttercup said, pulling open the double door. "We're on inside duty now. Remember to smile for the cameras."

"Fucking A." Butch groaned as he followed her inside.

* * *

 **AN:** **HEY THERE FANFICTION PEEPS! Yes, after six months and a week delay it's finally here! Convictions! Thank you guys so much for your patience! I know you've all been really wanting this but posting it earlier just wasn't an option. There is so much going on in my life right now I'm actually proud I was able to make this deadline!**

 **Anyways, enough excuses. What did you all think? Pardon me for any typos or bad writing. I'm a little out of practice but I'm feeling much better about the new direction of the story. I think you're all going to like it too.**

 **So please follow/favorite the story and be sure to leave a review! I will be replying to them just like last time. I'm looking forward to hearing from old friends and gaining new one!**

 **Oh one major note! I will be updating on a bi-weekly schedule this time around. I simply have too much on my plate to keep up the weekly updates like on Misconceptions. I hope that doesn't upset you all too much.**

 **So thank you everyone that's been eagerly awaiting this sequel! I hope it lives up to expectations.**

 **Next Week: We've seen what the Reds and Greens are up to. But what of the Blues? What part do they play in this new world? Find out next time! Chapter 2: The Power Couple.**

 **See you in two weeks!**


	2. Chapter 2 The Power Couple

**Chapter 2 – The Power Couple**

 _Buttercup's POV_

A multitude of camera flashes greeted them as the Greens walked back inside the Museum. Among the camera flashes were a constant flow of questions as well. Buttercup could only pick up a few through the jumble. It was the normal affair. What happened? Who was that? Are we safe? Is the President in danger? Are you and Captain Mitch still together?

It was surprising how much of the latter she got hounded on. Like she was pretty sure she got that question at least once every ten minutes anytime she was at an event. Stupid press. This is why she liked her job, lots of overseas time and minimal contact with the _journalist_ s.

There were a good number of them now. News traveled fast among these types and unfortunately she and Butch had arrived at their post. No avoiding them now. The Greens took up their positions and then the feeding frenzy started.

"Major Buttercup! What's the status outside? Was there a terrorist attempt?"

"Who was that man? What nationality?"

"Was he a part of a separatist organization?"

"Was he trying to assassinate the President?!"

Buttercup held back a sigh. She was going to have to comment or these vultures would never calm down. She put on her best stern look and lifted her hand. A few more questions were blurted out but for the most part the paparazzi fell silent.

"There was man, he was detained. That's all I'm permitted to say at this time. There will be a press release after the event is over. Thank you."

The silence last for maybe half a heartbeat afterwards, then the flood of questions picked back up again.

"What was he doing?"

"Was he working on his own?"

"Are there more inside this building?"

"Are we in any danger?"

This time Buttercup really did sigh. Ugh, she hated this. One of the reasons she had stayed on in the military was to avoid this crap. These guys knew she couldn't say anything that might be classified, so why did they always have to push? Because they were the press and that was _their_ job. Jesus. Didn't these punks get their fill throwing questions at Bubbles and Blossom?

Obviously not because the shouted inquiries just kept coming. Ugh, she was going to get a headache from all this.

Buttercup raised her hand again but the tide didn't falter. If anything, it picked up speed. More and more questions were shouted out as the various reporters jammed closer together. It was enough to make a person feel claustrophobic.

Thankfully she wasn't a person with phobias but it made her job of surveying the area much harder. And that was starting to piss her off. Didn't these fools realize they could be distracting her from stopping another incident? They were essentially putting their own lives at risk.

Fucking morons.

She tried to repeat her textbook response but the flood of questions didn't abate and they didn't seem to be listening to her. The flashes from cameras dazzled her eyes, making it all but impossible to see anything. This was really starting to piss her off. If this didn't stop soon oh there would be another incident and she'd be the instigator.

"Hey, the lady said all she was going to say. You jackals can wait until the event is over for more information!" Butch shouted into the racket.

And that of course just drew focus to him. The questions turned without warning and all the sudden Butch was in the spotlight. Poor bastard. You'd think he'd know by now not to make himself a target.

"Butch! How's life in the military?"

"Are you adapting to civilian life yet?"

"Are you adapting to _civil_ life yet?!"

"Do you feel any remorse over your creator's death? Do you mourn him?"

"Have you been let out of your curfew yet? Or do you still need the Major's permission to go anywhere?"

There was a slight twitch happening in Butch's left eye. This was common whenever he was in the center of the feeding frenzy.

The press hounded him relentlessly. It didn't matter how many times he answered the questions, they were always asked and new answers were always expected. She couldn't count the number of times people had asked the Green Ruff if he knew how to properly use a fork.

Yes, they were usually all asinine comments like that.

There were some even worse questions but the main ones liked to focus on Butch's upbringing in the ruins of Old Townsville and his life as a kept man. For some reason, a majority of the world thought the only reason Butch had been accepted into the ATA Squad was so that Buttercup could keep an eye on him.

Now she'd admit, that was only partially true and not for the reasons that most people thought. It wasn't that he was uncivilized or couldn't be trusted to be on his own. It was more of the fact that Butch could be…stupid when he was worked up. There weren't many people who could work him back down and the only one in the military was her.

She didn't reign him in per say, it more like he would actually listen to her and not talk back…all the time. He still gave her shit but that was to be expected. She gave him shit too. All the time in fact.

But that was beside the point. Butch's primary reason for being in the ATA Squad with her was because he was an amazing fighter and they needed him on their premiere terrorist fighting force. He was a valuable member of the team and she definitely thought he contributed more than his fair share of work.

Now if only the press would see it those ways instead of seeing him as a barely trained attack dog.

Fucking Idiots.

"Do you have to report in regularly on your activities?"

"What activities do you participate in?"

"Do they involve trees, tires, or bananas?"

The more ridiculous the questions got, the angrier Butch got. She could see him gnashing his teeth together and clenching his fists. It was a sure sign of an imminent implosion.

Shit. Time to step in. She had to end this and quickly.

"Everyone quiet down!" Buttercup shouted as she literally took a step forward.

The crowd collectively stepped back. Whether that was consciously or subconsciously, Buttercup couldn't tell but it pleased her.

"This is ridiculous. Butch is not a monkey. He is not a prisoner. He is not some attack dog. He is a human being and he has rights. You will respect those rights."

She fixed them with a steely eye. A few of the reports looked abashed while some looked confused. For the most part, they seemed taken aback by the forcefulness of her response.

"We have given multiple interviews and none of our answers have changed. If you have any official questions about what happened outside, you may direct them to General Allen's office. Until then please respect the event we are all attending here today and the fact that Butch and I are on duty. This is a memorial museum, dedicated to the men and women who lost their lives to give you the right to ask questions. You will respect that."

She kept a stern eye on them for a long moment as the shame sunk in. Then she stepped back into her spot and cast her eyes about for anything suspicious. If they didn't get the hint from that, she could do nothing to make them see reason.

Butch followed her lead despite his irritation. He shot the crowd a glare for good measure and then put on his stoic face.

A few reporters attempted to shout out another question or too but were quickly shushed by their colleagues. As suddenly as they had come, the gaggle of reports slinked back off into the ceremony.

Calm descends between the two Greens and Buttercup took a moment to calm herself down. She hated it when reporters got pushy. It was enough to make her want to sock some teeth in. General Allen wouldn't like that very much however, no matter how much those asshats deserved it.

So she had to rein her temper in. Thankfully, she was getting very good at it. It was an essential quality as a Major. She couldn't make hotheaded decision or fight the command structure. She was part of it now.

Still would have felt good to punch something though.

"Damn Butters, you sounded like a pissed off mom whose kids just destroyed the house."

She allowed a smile to turn her lips. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. How the hell do you do that? You handle those fools like a pro. If it were me, I'd punch every last one of them."

This time she laughed as Butch vocalized her inner thoughts. "Well Butch, it's either handle situations like an adult or get kicked out of the Army. Trust me, I want to punch them too."

He gave her a curious look over his shoulder. "The way you said that sounds like someone threatened you."

Buttercup shrugged. "They kinda of did. You remember that time I decked that bastard journalist who blew our cover?"

He paused a moment to think about it then let out a laugh. "Oh yeah, in Moscow. What was that? Four, five months ago?"

"Three." She replied. "How do you not remember the scandal that stirred up when it went public?"

"I don't pay attention to the news." He said simply.

Buttercup couldn't help but shake her head and smirk. Good old Butch. She could always rely on him to be unconcerned with anything that didn't relate directly to him.

"Well to refresh your memory, that nearly destroyed our ties with the Russian government. Ooo the President was pissed when he called me into his office."

"Wait, you got called into his office?" Butch asked incredulously, turning to face her. "Like a bad kid and a principle?"

Buttercup gave him a sour nod in return. "Oh yeah. It felt just like that too. He went on and on about attitudes and how the Alliance is represented by its members and how we have to uphold all its values no matter what."

"But we were undercover! That fucking retard blew a whole month of work. We lost sight of our biggest lead yet!"

"Didn't matter to him. All that mattered, and still matters, is that we're representing the Alliance at all times. Every day. No matter what." She said with a hint of disgust. "So we have to act the part, you know, respectable and stuff."

"That's lame."

"Totally."

Butch shook his head and turned back around. She noticed him scanning the room as a frown took over his face. A mental countdown started ticking down in her head.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

"That's stupid." Butch blurted out.

Bingo. She really knew him too well now.

"What's stupid Butch?" It was more of a statement than a question but he'd continue anyway.

"That we have to follow all these lame ass rules. Life was so much easier when we were fighting Mojo you know?"

"Watch yourself." She warned, sending him a sharp look. "If any of these reporters heard you say that they'd have a field day."

He rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant. I hated that fucking chimp."

"Doesn't matter what you meant. They could twist it any way they like if it's a quote. You need to be more careful."

"That's exactly what I'm saying! That shit right there! How fucking annoying is it that we have to watch what we say and do all the damn time? Isn't putting our lives on the line every fucking day enough? No, we have to be stupid PR reps too? That's bullshit."

She nodded to appease him. Hopefully it'd calm him down before he got any more worked up. That's the last thing they needed to add into the mix today.

"I agree that it's stupid but that's the life we live Butch. At least we don't have to deal with more than every once in a while. Just think we could be stuck here all the time like Bubbles and Boomer."

That swiftly changed Butch's train of thought. The angry look disappeared and a grimace took over his face. "Poor bastard. How can he stand it? I'd have gone loony by now."

"He's got quite a bit more patience than you Butch. Besides he likes being near Bubbles."

"Oh yes, the poster children." Butch replied sarcastically with a shake of his head.

It wasn't that he was mad at either of the Blues, he was pissed off for them. What he said was true, Bubbles and Boomer had basically been propped up as the media darlings for the Alliance. They were at every special event, every treaty signing, balls, galas, you name it and they were there.

In Buttercup's opinion, they had definitely gotten the short end of the stick when it came to jobs in the new world order. She agreed with Butch, if she were in their shoes, she'd have gone bananas by now.

It was kinda their own fault though. Sure they found love in service to the greater good and that made for an amazing love story come to life, but they hadn't shut down the Alliance PR representatives when they had caught hold of the story.

Both Blues had agreed to embrace the roles they had been handpicked for. Buttercup wasn't sure either had known what they were getting into however. Any chance those PR reps got to show off the love birds, they took it.

It had to be utterly exhausting but Buttercup had never heard her sister complain. Bubbles was the patron saint of patience.

There was one plus side to all this however, Boomer's constant spotlight had helped ease fears about the Boys. Sure some idiots, like the ones just a few minutes ago, still asked stupid questions about their allegiances. The prominent idea being that the Boys were still evil and were working as rouge agents to take revenge for their father's demise.

The number of people who believed that was thankfully shrinking every day. For the most part everyone had pretty much come to the conclusion that they were decent folk. As long as Boomer stayed a model citizen, it would continue to shed a good light on the boys.

And that was a plus no matter what jobs they had. To tell the truth, she wasn't even sure what Boomer did most of the time.

Didn't he work with Ms. Keane or something? She and Boomer didn't really talk so he had never told her. Bubbles probably had, but she could never remember small chit chat. It was hard to pay attention sometimes when her sisters were all together.

It wasn't that what her sisters had to say was unimportant or anything. It was just boring. Blossom was a politician in training and Bubbles was a nurse. Neither of those things really peaked Buttercup's interest so she kinda zoned out when they were brought up in conversation, and they always were.

She didn't fault either of her sisters for that. They probably zoned out when she talked about taking out a war lord or something. That was fair.

Still she should have paid more attention. It was the least she could do since she was away so much. Maybe after today's event she could have dinner with Blossom and Bubbles. They hadn't really had a chance to chat since she got in yesterday.

Yeah, that sounds fun.

"Those poor saps." Butch's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Huh?"

"Boom and Sunshine. Damn I'm glad I'm not them. They have the worst job by far."

Here Buttercup allowed a smirk to cross her face. Butch was right, they most certainly did. Because of their glowing status as power couple for the Alliance, they got the most deplorable job in the whole damn government.

Personal body guards for special events.

"I bet you those two have cameras are all over them." She said with a chuckle.

Butch let out a laugh. "Can't wait to see the front page of the newspaper tomorrow. You know I'm keeping all the clippings?"

The Green Puff shot him an odd look. "You're keeping newspaper clippings? Why? That's so unlike you."

A grin broke out across his face. "Pay back. You know how Boomer's been pranking the shit out of me every time I come home?"

"Yeah."

"And you know how he gets super embarrassed every time his picture is in the paper?"

" _Yeah._ " She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

The smile on Butch's face turned wicked as he glanced at her, "Well he was talking to me last time about this thing going down. Apparently there's a tour of our living quarters going to happen sometime in the next month or so. It's for some stupid ass promotion slash interview thing."

His face twisted in disgust before reverting back to his malicious grin.

"But picture this. He's walking the lady or whatever through the hall and then opens the door to his room and bam! The whole damn thing's been plastered with pictures of his face from the newspapers. Haha!''

"Butch." Buttercup tried to say sternly. She couldn't help but giggle though. "That's not nice."

"Nice ain't got nothing to do with it sister! He deserves payback for that shit he pulled with my boots and that jar of peanut butter."

This time a real laugh broke her composure. Oh yeah, the peanut butter incident. That had been a pretty good one.

"You're going to get him in trouble if you mess up that interview."

Butch shrugged. "Eh, worth it."

Buttercup shook her head and tried to dismiss the smile on her lips. "You're just cruel. He's going to melt from embarrassment you know.

He shrugged again. "You wanna play goodie two shoes and be a power couple, you gotta accept the responsibilities. Also, don't ever fuck with Butch. Boomer's going to learn that lesson the hard way. He's gotta suffer."

"As if they weren't suffering enough right now anyway."

Butch just let out an evil chuckle. "Payback."

Buttercup shook her head and turned back to look around the area. No matter how 'good' Butch got, he'd always have an evil streak in him. That's what made him Butch. At least it wasn't directed at her this time.

She had to admit, she couldn't wait to see Boomer's face either. Maybe she had an evil streak too?

…

Nah.

* * *

 _Boomer's POV_

He hated this, like really hated this.

Boomer hid a sigh as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. He was so terribly bored right now. But that was to be expected. He had been standing here like a manikin for the last forty minutes. He should have been used to it by now but alas…he wasn't.

It was like this every event too. He has survived what? Forty? Forty Five? Somewhere around there. So you'd think he'd be an expert by now. But nope, he still felt as out of place as ever. It probably had to do with all the talking, and smiling, and mingling, and flash photography.

Ugh. He especially hated _that_ part. It gave him such a headache. Bubbles said it made him grumpy too. He thought that was a bit of an exaggeration, but she insisted it did. It wasn't something he could help though! Goodness knew the Blue Ruff did his best at keeping a cheerful attitude at these things, but dammit, it was hard!

In the end, what he felt was inconsequential because he still had a job to do while he was here. Grinning at the masses was a requirement of that job unfortunately.

With that thought in mind, the blond remembered to reinforce his smile as he looked out across the cameras pointed his direction. He tried to make it genuine but he wasn't sure if he succeeded. It was hard to do for him

Bubbles had it down to a science. He really needed to figure out how she did it because a fake smile was easily visible on the front page of a daily newspaper. He had seen an unfortunate number of them in the last few months. Boy, did he ever hate how he looked in newspapers. If he could burn every single one of them it would be a happy day. Mind you there would be reproductions to that somewhat violent act and it probably wouldn't be worth it in the end.

That didn't mean he didn't have the urge from time to time however. Thankfully Boomer had learned to stamp down on those kind of thoughts rather well, it sorta a requirement for being a good guy. There were a lot of those, requirements that is. And as he was slowly learning, not all of them were great.

He wasn't talking about the non-arson stuff, it was more the whole bow to authority vibe he had to follow. Who would have thought it played such a big role in a heroes life? Especially theirs. IF it wasn't the generals bossing him around, it was the President.

Speaking of which, where was he? The Blue Ruff was supposed to be keeping an eye on him.

Boomer took a look around and quickly spotted the man of the hour. The President was standing off to the left chatting with a few dignitaries. Ms. Bellum was by his side, adding to the conversation.

They were quite the couple when it came to politics. President McCoy had the charisma and Ms. Bellum had the technical knowhow. It didn't matter what question came their way, they knew how to answer it. A press conference with the two was something to see.

Yet somehow, despite all that, the press and the world at large seemed to hold the Alliance with little regard. Boomer didn't understand how that was possible. They were rebuilding the world here, not a city or a state, a whole fing _world._ Of course there were going to be issues and problems.

Didn't people understand what it meant to have a little faith?

Obviously not because that's where him and Bubbles came in.

They had a gaggle of reporters and cameras surrounding them as well. Not as much as the President but pretty dang close. Hence the excessive amount of camera flashes that constantly assaulted his eyes. It made it really hard for him to do his 'technically' hidden job.

Although, he wasn't sure how hidden it was. It seemed pretty obvious. Who wouldn't have put two and two together by now? Where ever the President went, so did Boomer and Bubbles. They were prominent figures of the Final Battle and heroes of the war. Only a really oblivious person would think they were anything but security detail, thankfully only for these kinds of events.

He wouldn't be able to stand it if he had to be a round the clock bodyguard. Dealing with crazies only some of the time was much more preferable thank you very much.

Like that psycho that he had heard about over his earpiece a few minutes ago. It was amazing that dude had even managed to make it into the speech. The process to get into one of these things was crazy difficult.

There were months of background checks and multiple interviews. Then people had to get authorized not only by the President's office but the military's as well. That was a lot of work. It seemed a tad bit wasteful slash excessive to go through all that and then blow it at the first chance this guy got.

Although, he shouldn't complain. It wasn't like he wanted the insane guy to succeed. One assassin stopped was one too many for him. Hopefully there wouldn't be any more hiding the in crowd, but given the track record of these types of shindigs…

Boomer took a nervous glance about and swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in the base of his throat. The thought of having to prevent an incident set him on edge. He hated thinking about what ifs. It always went down a dark road in his mind.

If he failed, the President was _dead_.

Geez, talk about pressure.

He couldn't even begin to imagine the fallout from that. All the hard work he and his brothers had put into building up their reputations would be down the drain in an instant. Months of interviews, events, and hard work would be utterly destroyed.

Oh and he'd probably get court-martialed and executed too. Can't forget about that fun part.

His mind was just a bundled of happy thoughts right now wasn't it? Dammit Boomer, focus! Think of something good. Something like, like the fact that he wasn't alone!

Thank goodness he had a partner to share this weighty responsibility with.

Boomer drew in a subtle breath to calm his nerves and snuck a side long glance towards the gorgeous figure standing next to him.

Bubbles was stunning to look at. Even now, after being together for six months, he still marveled at how beautiful she was. Her outfit only magnified that beauty. The floor length dress was a powder blue accented with tiny jewels around the neckline. The silhouette was slim and complimented her petite figure _very_ nicely if he did say so himself. The light dusting of makeup finished her ensemble.

She was breathtaking.

And he was totally staring.

A blush rose on Boomer's face as he forced himself to look away. He tried to tamp down on his embarrassment but it was hard to do with them standing so close to one another. Her arm was threaded daintily through his and her smile shown like the sun as she shook hands with a few ambassadors.

He was always in awe of Bubbles but never as much as he was when he saw her handle people. It could be the press or foreign dignitaries or even regular citizens. It didn't matter who they were, Bubbles handled them all with grace and hospitality. She was absolutely amazing to watch in action.

He wasn't sure what her conversation with the ambassadors was about, he had been too lost in his own mind to catch more than a few words, but her easy going smile seemed to have utterly charmed them.

He had once asked Bubbles about her skill early on and she had attributed it to her time as a super hero before Mojo. Apparently, and he had no idea about this, the Girls had to deal with the press a lot when they were younger. Like when they were five and six years old.

That was so crazy to think about. Six year olds having to fight crime and deal with the paparazzi? Talk about prepping for your future job.

Bubbles had laughed it off and told him it was like riding a bicycle. It took only a little while to get back all the skills she had buried. Now sure, there had been a few missteps in the early first months of the Alliance's formation, a few mistaken words. But now Bubbles handled those jackals like a pro. She was everybody's favorite celebrity and he had to admit, she fit the bill pretty perfectly.

Now if only he could do the same. Man, he needed to work on his people skills. He still felt like bumbling fool when he was put on the spot. These reporters came up with the craziest questions too. If it wasn't about some foreign plight it was gossip or rumors about him and Bubbles. Those were probably the toughest question of all to answer.

How should he know where their relationship was going? This was the first on he had ever had! As far as he knew, it was going good. They were happy together. That was all there was too it right? According to every other person on the planet, nope!

The paparazzi always bugged him to see what milestone he and Bubbles had recently hit. How many dates had they been on? Were they on the making out stage yet? Or was it still just a peck on the lips? Had they had sex?

Like what the hell?! No way would he answer that last one. Did they honestly expect him to? Crazy people! Those were private things between him and his lady. The world had no right to know about them, but they sure thought they did.

Man that annoyed _and_ embarrassed him, terribly so. He had never asked to be a celebrity but it had been thrust upon him. No choice at all. To steal a phrase from Butch, it sucked balls.

The world needed celebrities again, or so President McCoy had said when he told Boomer and Bubbles about their new positions within the Alliance. It kept the people's minds off their frustrations and the state of the world. It would keep them from rioting.

He wasn't sure he quite believed that last part but it was a big problem right now.

There was so much tension and confusion in the world. Protests and demonstrations were an everyday occurrence. Then there were times when those protests dissolved into riots. It was practically a weekly thing.

And truthfully, that really sucked.

He had never witnessed rioting before the Alliance formed. There had never been any in Townsville. So it was completely shocking to see it happen for the first time. Looting, violence, the sheer amount of anger pulsing through so many people.

The angry shouts echoed still today. All one had to do was go into downtown and see the masses of people clashing with police. It was disheartening to think about and even more so to witness.

Thus, it was with great reluctance that he accepted his role. If being a celebrity helped society then it couldn't have been too bad right? At least he wasn't alone.

Again his eyes drifted towards his counterpart. Sometime during his recollection, the ambassadors had wandered away and left Bubbles free. Her eyes met his and for a long second the world seemed to stop. It always did when he gazed into that sky like view. They were gorgeous. He'd never grow tired of them, of that he was certain.

A smile grew across his face and mirrored the one on hers. He was so glad to have her in his life. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her and he knew she'd do anything for him. All that and more was told with this one glance, this sliver of time held still by pure love.

Then a heartbeat later…the moment was torn to shreds by a flurry of camera flashes.

If there was anything photographers loved more than photos of Boomer and Bubbles standing together, it was of them looking lovingly into each other's eyes. They were always quick to try and capture those instances on film.

The moment between the two lovers was ruined and Boomer was made violently aware of where he was once again. That euphoric high disappeared and grimace overtook his smile.

God damn paparazzi. They always had to ruin the good things didn't they?

And like a ban had been lifted, questions started being hurled their way.

"Bubbles! What's it like to be in love with a former villain?"

"Do you two fight often?"

"What do you two do for fun?"

"What's your favorite type of cake?"

"When are you two going to advance your relationship? Any talk of marriage yet?!"

Boomer was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of absurd questions but that last one stuck out the most. The Blues were getting that one more and more as time went on.

He hated it, not because of the thought of getting married to Bubbles, but because of the awkwardness that followed in that questions wake.

Bright red blushes overtook both the Blue's faces and an unusual silence fell upon the reporters as they awaited an answer. Even the ones addressing President McCoy a few feet away stopped mid-sentence and turned to face the Blues.

Boomer thought he caught a frown forming on the President's face as all attention turned towards him and Bubbles, but it disappeared too quickly for him to be sure.

"Yeah Bubbles, what about marriage?" A random person shouted out.

"Is it going to happen?" Another egged.

Bubbles did her best to regain her composure but it was hard even for her. "Um well…"

"Come on Bubbles! Give us an answer! Is this relationship going anywhere?"

"Yeah! You can't stay in the baby stages forever!"

"I uh, we, we are ah…It's um complicated?" Her answered seemed more like a question and the vultures pounced on it.

"So are you even still together?"

"Is the government forcing you to date him?"

"Is this all a setup?"

"I'll date you instead!"

That last excited call was the final straw for Boomer. No one, and he meant _no one_ ,had the right to question his and Bubbles relationship. And no one damn well had the right to ask her out in front of him.

"That's enough!" He shouted out loud and clear.

Again, another unusual silence overtook the reporters and camera men. All eyes turned solely towards him and it was then that Boomer realized he had stepped into the limelight. Shit.

…

"Uh, we are um…we are very happy together." He started out nervously, gesturing between Bubbles and himself.

Not a great start but it was than blanking.

"And no, this is not some setup. I fell in love with Bubbles before this Alliance was even started and that love hasn't changed. There has been no talk of marriage and there won't be for a long time. We're new to all of this and we're still figuring it out." His voice grew more certain as he went on and Bubbles nodded in agreement with him.

"That's right. We all know relationships are special and require time and attention. You can't rush something like that." She added. "Now please lady and gentlemen, respect our privacy and contain yourselves. This is a memorial event is it not?

"It is indeed Ms. Utonium." A powerful voice from behind concurred.

All at once everyone turned around to see who had spoken.

Field Marshal Fisher struck a dignified air as he stood tall in his military uniform. Medals and awards decorated the entirety of his chest and glowed under the light. He took in the sea of reporters and cameramen with a calm, measure look.

"Field Marshal! Did you bring a date tonight?"

The limelight had suddenly shifted once more.

If there was any one person as popular as the Powerpuff Girls and their Rowdyruff counterpart, it was the Field Marshal. The press loved him.

He was labeled as a hero after the Final Battle. His story of fighting for ten long years again the evil dictator Mojo Jojo had endeared him to the hearts of the people. Many had called for him to enter the political ring and lead them but he had refused all efforts.

He was a military man and had no interest in politics. That didn't save him from celebrity status however.

"What's your next move Field Marshal? Any political aspirations? President perhaps?"

Boomer winced and looked at President McCoy. He was left somewhat forgotten by the press as they clamored over towards Fisher and he didn't look happy about it.

A flash of what might have been uncertainty passed over Fisher's face before he squashed it down and cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this memorial museum is dedicated to the men and woman who made this Alliance possible. We would be failing our duty not pay our respects and keep the event focused on those lost lives would we not?" He asked the crowd.

That only somewhat tempered them. Boomer would say about half the crowd looked abashed, the other half just became more motivated.

"So does that mean you might run?"

The Field Marshal looked like he was caught off guard that someone wouldn't obey his suggestion. He was a military man after all. He was used to be obeyed.

"Um…" It was Fisher's turn to flounder as more paparazzi began to throw questions at him.

"When are those elections happening? There were none when the Alliance was formed!"

"A recent poll suggested a vast majority of the people would rather have you leading the Alliance than President McCoy. What is your response to that?"

"Who would you want as your Vice President?"

Fisher struggled to answer all the questions being thrown his way. He might have been a natural leader on the field of battle, but he was just as new to this celebrity status as Boomer was. Thankfully none of them were on their own.

A sharp whistle cut through the air and made Boomer flinch. Damn sensitive hearing.

All eyes turned towards the source and it turned out to be Vice President Bellum. She stood proud, facing down the unruly crowd. Instantly a sort of sanity returned to the reporters.

They might be able to overwhelm Boomer and Bubbles _and_ the Field Marshal, but there was no way they could pull that on Ms. Bellum. She was much too experienced in the political ring to be cowed by a few tough questions and every reporter here knew it.

They couldn't get away with shit when she was involved.

Vice President Bellum surveyed the room with a stern look and held her silence for a long minute. A few of the less steely reporters even started to squirm. Boomer wasn't going to lie, he kinda enjoyed that. See how they liked being on the receiving end.

"Ladies and gentlemen, ambassadors and dignitaries…the President."

President McCoy stepped up beside her and folded his arm behind his back. "My dear fellows, we are here today to honor the losses taken by the brave men and woman of the Resistance. Those losses paved the way for the Alliance and the entire world. Can we not respect that?"

Those reporters who hadn't been squirming were definitely doing so now. No one enjoyed being called to task. No one liked being on the President's bad side either. Not one peep came from the assorted bunch as President spoke again.

"It is now time for the moment of silence at the Reverence Pool. If you would follow us?"

Not one reporter called out a question or asked for a comment as the President and Vice President led the way down the hall.

Boomer let out a sigh of relief. Finally. Damn that had gotten intense.

"Are you okay Boomer?" Bubbles whispered at his side.

He looked down at her concerned face and tried to smile.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. That just got a little crazier than I was expecting."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it hasn't been that extreme in a while. People are getting restless I guess."

His attempt to smile fizzled and the Blue Ruff sighed. "You would think the opposite would be happening. Is it just me or do things seem to be heating up?"

"Well, change is slow and people have short attention spans I guess. Don't worry Boomer. Things will be okay. The President and Vice President will take care of it. We just have to play our parts and try to keep things happy."

He nodded. Bubbles was right. He had to have hope and be positive. The weight of the world wasn't on his shoulders anymore. He just had to act the part he had been given. It wasn't like he was the President or anything. It should have been easy.

So why did he feel like things were getting worse instead of better?

Boomer tried to shove the unpleasant thought to the back of his mind as he picked up Bubbles hand and let her lead him down the hall. Yet as they stood gathered around the giant pool in the center of the museum, he couldn't shake the feeling.

Something big was going to happen soon. He didn't know what and he didn't know when. All he knew was that it was going to be big and somehow he was going to be in the center of it all.

* * *

 **AN: So sorry this is a week late! The excuse is that I slammed my finger in a door and took off half the padding on my fingertip. It was hard to write for a while. Oh! And birthday vacation. But still, those are excuses and I'm so sorry for being late! First update and this happens. I'm such a bad author. Next one will be on time. I promise! Sorry if this was a bit rushed. I had to rewrite a lot these last few days and I might have missed some typos.**

 **Anyways. Thanks so much for all the loving reviews and messages! They mean the world to me and you guys are so amazing! I hope this chapter was worth the wait.**

 **-Reviewer Recognition-**

 **A big shout out to the reviewers from last update: insanityisablessedgift, Rhearenee, Scourge, MetallicalyLove, KydFlash, kuppielovE, Siarah, ROCuevas, Tommyboy75, n, DawnRed, Guest, Anime-Grimmy, MarshmallowFluff, TheFabulousLady, Tziput13, Carriedreamer, Kasumi96, Lily, Meeptastic, Jmaster4, AC, crazyformario.**

 **You guys are awesome! And I'm so happy to see so many of you guys from Misconceptions here to read the new story and the new people! Thanks so much for the reviews. And to all the silent readers out there! Welcome!**

 **I'll try to do better the next update. No self injury or birthdays to hold me back!**

 **Next week: The ceremony ends and The Girls and Boys get ready for the next big thing! Chapter 3: Reunited.**

 **Until next time guys. See ya.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Reunited

**Chapter 3 - Reunited**

 _Bubbles's POV_

"God damn!" Butch groaned and rubbed a hand down the side of his face. I know I haven't been to one of these smancy fancy up to dos in a while but damn, that took forever. Is it always like this?"

"Exhausting? Yeah pretty much." Bubbles replied with a small smile.

She took a seat on one of the front steps leading to the museum's entrance. The moon was well in the sky and the hour was late but like Butch said, the opening ceremony was finally over. She thought it had gone pretty well.

There hadn't been any other major incidents or attempts of terrorism…if you didn't count the relentless press as terrorism. They had sure seemed like it tonight. Bubbles had never seen them this whipped up before. It was amazing

Bubbles was known for handling the paparazzi with only a little bit of forceful talk. They were usually very easy to shut down with a few choice words. That is, except for tonight. This time she had been on the ropes. It had been a real challenge to duck and dodge all those personal questions.

Why had they asked so many? She hadn't faced a bombardment like that since the war ended. Was it because all the Girls and Boys were gathered together for this event?

That could have been it. The six of them had been split apart for a while now. Buttercup and Butch were always off fighting and it was a lucky day if Blossom could drag Brick out from the lab. Normally it was just her and Boomer at these sort of things.

The Blues had gotten into a routine with the press because of that. They would ask innocent questions, sometimes dealing with Alliance policies, sometimes dealing with them personally. Then they would ask maybe one or two intimate questions. You know, like how were she and Boomer doing as a couple? Were there any signs of their relationship progressing beyond boyfriend and girlfriend? What was their most memorable kiss?

Silly things like that.

There had been no silly questions this time. The gloves had come off and the paparazzi had been out for blood. It was like the unspoken truce between the Blues and their normally doting press had been ripped away. It didn't matter what was asked or what line was crossed. They wanted a story dag nabbit.

Bubbles sighed at the craziness of it all. She was very happy that the long day was coming to a close. All the foreign dignitaries were off at their hotels and the press had cleared out as well. It was a welcome relief to the Girls and Boys to finally have a bit of quiet after the eventful afternoon. They definitely needed it.

"I don't know how you do it all the times Bubs." Buttercup spoke as she took a seat next to her.

The blonde gave a small shrug. "It's usually easier. Tonight was rough."

"No kidding." Boomer sighed as he took a seat on her other side. "Was it just me or were their questions super personal?"

"Oh they were personal dear. I've never been asked about our sex life before."

"Ugh, bad mental image, bad mental image!" Butch gagged.

He swatted at the air in front of his face as if trying to physically shoo the vision away from his mind's eye. Buttercup rolled her eyes and tossed a bit of discard paper at him.

"Grow up. Just cause you haven't gotten any." She said with a smirk.

Her counterpart went from disgusted to instantly indignant. "What? Says who?!"

"Says me and I've been with you practically six months straight. When have you had time to shack up? And with who?" She arched a brow.

"I'll have you know there are scores of ladies lining up." Butch sniffed. "Hell, you've seen it. Everywhere we go there's always some chick wanting a piece of this."

It was Buttercup's turn to look disgusted as he waved at his body. Bubbles couldn't help but giggle at the scene. Those two were so cute together even if they didn't know it. Their banter always had her chuckling, if not in stiches.

She missed not having them around. Like, _really_ missed them.

Throughout the fight against Mojo, she had come to rely on Buttercup and Blossom so much. The Boys had become a part of that too. They had grown together in this tight bond of friendship, dare she even say family, in the fight to save the world.

Now that family was split apart.

She barely got to see the Greens but once every few weeks. The Reds were better; at least they stayed in the city. But with work there wasn't much time for any get togethers. Blossom was always busy with politic stuff and Brick with science stuff.

Thank goodness she had Boomer.

He was her rock during these last few months. He was always there. That was the amazing part. Even if he was busy, and they all were, he still made time every day to see her.

She needed that right now. There was so much to learn and so much to do, all the time. She was breaking out on her own and learning how to have a romantic relationship. Plus there was her job and school and social engagements. It was all so confusing and hard.

She didn't know how she would have made it through all these crazy months without her Boomer.

A smile grew across her face as she grabbed his hand. He looked down at her with a grin and gently rubbed her knuckles.

It was little, sweet gestures like those that made her feel safe and warm. She never felt lonely when he was around. She felt like he completed her. Bubbles didn't know if that was solely because they were in love or if it had something to do with the fact that they were counterparts as well.

Maybe it was both? Maybe the fact that they were counterparts just amplified their love and that sense of connectivity between them?

It was possible wasn't it? There were tons of things about their powers and genetic makeup that no one knew. It was completely uncharted territory. Not even the Professor knew about that kind of stuff. Perhaps one day he would study it. It would be very interesting to see what he would find out.

Until then, she was going to keep on living how she was living and enjoy the good feelings.

"All I'm saying is that I got the moves Butters. Don't be jealous."

Bubbles blinked rapidly as Butch's voice cut through her revere. She had zoned out while Butch and Buttercup still continued to argue about his relationship status…or rather, lack of one. In her defense, it had been a _really_ long day.

Buttercup let out a fake laugh. "Jealous? Please, you wish."

"Fine, don't admit it." Butch shrugged.

Buttercup sent her counterpart a glare and threw another bit of discard trash at him. It was a flyer for the event so it didn't do much but flutter in the air. The intent behind it counted though. As such, Butch felt the need to retaliate and found his own piece of paper to throw.

Within seconds Bubbles and Boomer were caught in the middle of a full out trash throwing war.

A shriek escaped Bubbles's lips as one of the pieces somehow found its way into the bodice of her dress. Boomer did his best to protect her from the onslaught but Butch and Buttercup were in it to win it. Any piece of paper they could find was crumpled into a ball and thrown with deadly accuracy.

And that was how Blossom and Brick found them.

Both Greens had taken up offensive positions behind some columns flanking the museum's entrance while Boomer sat huddled over his girlfriend. There were balls of paper flying all over the place. Butch and Buttercup could have put a tornado to shame.

That of course, wasn't going to fly with Blossom. She stepped into the fray with a stern glare painted on her face.

" _Excuse me!_ What on earth is going on here? Are you guys throwing _trash_ at each other?" She asked incredulously as she put her hands on her hips.

Brick mirrored her expression but there was a hint of mischief in those red eyes of his, or at least, that's what Bubbles thought. It was hard to tell with him.

In the face of a good old fashioned lecture, all four of the younger siblings stood silently. Bubbles couldn't help but feel bashful even if she hadn't been a part of the assault. It was a sort of sympathy guilt she felt. It was weird, she knew it was, but someone had to feel guilty because Butch certainly wasn't.

He looked unapologetic as he stood behind his column. His eyes bounced back and forth between Blossom and Buttercup as if he expect the Green Puff to launch a sneak attack when he wasn't looking.

A long moment of silence stretched between all of them. Blossom started tapping her foot. She wasn't letting this go until she got answers.

"He started it." Buttercup pointed straight at her counterpart.

Of all the sneak attacks, Butch definitely wasn't expecting that one. He gaped openly at Buttercup.

"Did not!" He shouted out, relinquishing his position by stepping out into the open.

As soon as he did Buttercup took the opportunity to peg him right in the face with her last paper ball. The Green Ruff flinched back and looked absolutely gob smacked by the second arm of the sneak attack. He had been completely suckered and Buttercup couldn't have been more delighted. She cackled merrily as he huffed.

"Can both of you _please_ cut it out? We're supposed to be professional here." Blossom said with a sigh.

Bubbles smiled as her big sister's stern look fell away into something more resigned. Trying to control the Greens was about as easy as wrangling cats. Not even Blossom with all her older sister authority could manage the feat more than half of the time.

"Why do we need to be professional? The event's over Bossy." Butch grumbled as he came forward and gave Buttercup a shove.

She shoved back and another battle was on the verge of breaking out. Brick walked down the steps and put an end to it by physically separated the two as Blossom rubbed at her temples.

"Yes, the event is over but there could still be people about. You know how those paparazzi can be. We need to present a dignified air at all times."

"Now you're just sounding like McCoy." The Green Ruff replied.

You know, he was right about that.

In fact, Bubbles had heard that exact same phrase from the President before. It was most usually directed at Buttercup or Butch but it applied to all of the Ruffs and Puffs. They were the frontlines of the PR war and image was everything.

She hated that part of it all. Bubbles wished that she could just live a normal live in anonymity. But that wasn't in her cards. She was in the limelight wherever she went, even work!

How those _reporters_ got in the hospital, she could never find out. She wasn't sure if she should be impressed with their resourcefulness or concerned about the potential security breach. Maybe both?

"Better you hear it from me than the President." Blossom shook her head. "Look it's been a long day and we're all really tired. Let's flag down a van and get back to the apartments. I think we could all use some sleep."

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Bubbles replied. "Sleep sounds great right now."

"Totally." Boomer stood and offered her a hand to get up off the step.

She gratefully accepted it and took a quick second to dust off her dress. A gust flew by and pierced straight through the thin material, making the blond shiver. Boomer being the gentlemen he was, immediately shrugged out of his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

The couple shared a warm smile that made Bubbles feel like she was melting into a pile of goo. His smiles tended to do that to her. It could almost be considered swooning.

That wonderful smile was wiped away as Butch walked back behind Boomer and delivered a swift smack upside the head. "Break it up love birds! Time to roll out!"

A mischievous grin covered Butch's face as he trotted off down the garden path. Blossom, Buttercup, _and_ Brick all let out sighs at his childish behavior. That of course didn't stop the Green Ruff. He let out a hoot of laughter and waved tauntingly at them all.

Boomer rubbed at the sore spot on his head and then spent the next few seconds looking like he was debating going after the Ruff for some retribution. While that probably would have been quite the show, he was still wearing his tuxedo. It would be a shame to get that dirty. Those things were devishily hard to get clean.

In the end, Boomer just copied his eldest brother and let out a long winded sigh. He looked down at her and raised an arm for her to grab.

"Shall we?"

"We shall." Bubbles took his arm and they set off down the remaining flight of steps.

The others followed suit and soon all of them were making their way through the darkened gardens. Butch even slowed down to join them since his attempt at goading his younger brother failed. But where physical action failed, there were always words.

"Didn't want to mess up the monkey suit pretty boy?"

Bubbles shook her head at his second attempt. Butch had been fairly restrained during the whole event. She supposed this was his time to get out all that bottled up obnoxiousness and frustration. As long as it wasn't too bad right? After all, Butch really couldn't help but being a bit of a brat from time to time.

"Hell no. These things are a pain the butt to get clean. You might know that if you actually wore one from time to time." Boomer fired back with a nod at Butch's attire.

The brunet took a second to look at his army uniform and shrugged the comment aside. "Nah I'm good."

Bubbles giggled at his response and gave Butch a sugary sweet smile. "But Butch, I bet you'd clean up really nice! Just think of how impressed the paparazzi would be."

A shiver of disgust worked through his body and he shook his head viciously. "Ugh. God, I can't imagine what kind of stupid ass questions those punks would try and throw at me. Or the pictures they'd wanna get. Just ugh!" He finished by spitting in the grass.

"Nope Sunshine, no suits for me. Those are for suckers only." He finished, lacing his hands behind his head.

"So you're calling us suckers are you?" Brick spoke with a cocked brow.

Butch nodded without a moment's hesitation. "Totally. You got sucked into the whole fancy smancy science biz and Boom got himself knees deep into a relationship with one of the Darlings of the Resistance. Serves you both right."

Boomer rolled his eyes at the brunet's back and then looked down at her. He gave her arm a gentle squeezed and coupled it with one of those amazing smiles. "Worth it."

It was amazing how those two words made her blush like a school girl. She didn't even know why she was blushing. It wasn't like this was the first time he had shown her affection amongst their siblings or declared his love to her.

It always blew her away though, and she hoped it always would.

With a quick wink that had her blushing even more, Boomer looked toward Butch again and rubbed at his chin. "You know who I think had the easiest night?"

"Who?" Butch asked, taking the bait.

"Brick. He got to stay up on that platform the entire event!"

The Green Ruff thought about it for a second then his face scrunched up into a sort of indignant look. "Hey yeah! What's with that? Why weren't you down in the pit with the rest of us?"

The red headed Ruff gave his two brothers a smirk. "Seniority has its perks."

"Plus that was part of the condition Brick bargained with McCoy at the very beginning." Blossom chimed in.

"Beginning of what? The planning of the event?" Bubbles asked, as the others turned to look at her sister curiously.

"Nope, the beginning of the Alliance itself. He somehow got the President to agree to let him sit up on some sort of platform away from the press for every social event moving forward. I'm not quite sure how you did that either." She finished with a thoughtful frown at her counterpart.

Brick shrugged off everyone's scrutiny and walked along nonchalantly. "A master never reveals his secrets."

"What?" Butch whined. "You can't just leave it like that! And what's with this solo biz? We're supposed to be brothers! How could you leave me to the wolves like that!?"

"And what about me?" Boomer asked Butch as he noticed the lack of brotherly love in that last sentence.

Butch looked back and shrugged at him. "Eh you'll survive. Me on the other hand!" He cried out as he turned back to Brick. "For the love of humanity Brick! Get me a deal like that!"

Boomer playful shoved his brutish brother from behind as Brick smirked at the both of them. "No can do. It was a one-time deal and I'm not about to sour that by trying to change the rules. You're on your own brothers."

Butch clutched out at his chest and groaned as if he had been stabbed.

"Betrayed! By my own flesh and blood!" The brunet even stumbled a bit to add to his performance.

Overall, Bubbles would have given it a nine out of ten. The extra gagging sounds he threw in diminished the otherwise flawless act. Still, she couldn't keep herself from giggling at his antics.

It was easy to forget how much fun Butch was. He was always pulling shenanigans like this and it always seemed to make her laugh in some way or another. He was surprisingly goofy for being such a feared warrior.

Buttercup put an end to his melodramatics with a shoved that sent the brunet stumbling. Butch let his act drop with a laugh. He sent his counterpart a grin to which she just shook her head. She had obviously been subjected to Butch's shenanigans far more than Bubbles had and had a lesser appreciation for them.

The Ruffs and Puffs made their way to the end of the garden and found a large, armored van waiting for them by the gate. A uniformed man leaning against the car straightened up upon seeing them.

"Ms. Utonium? You requested a ride to the living quarters?" He asked with a salute.

That technically wasn't required when talking to Blossom anymore but old habits died hard. Bubbles had witnessed more than a few of the soldiers and guards looking at her older sister with the sort of reverence usually saved for a general or the President.

If she was being honest, that same reverence was always directed at her and Buttercup as well. It made her feel a bit squeamish though. She never wanted any hero worship, that wasn't why she did things. She did acted like a hero because it was just. That was it.

They would probably never be rid of it those. It was just part of the package deal when you had helped save the world.

"Yes thank you." Blossom responded back to the driver. "We're ready to depart."

He lowered his salute and pulled open the side door. "Then please."

All six of them piled into the van and took a seat on its long benches. The door clung shut and the driver hurried to get in and start the car up. It hummed to life with a faint rumble and soon they were off.

It was too bad the van didn't have any windows, armored as it was. The city at night was always something beautiful to behold. The sky scrapers each glowed with some sort of colored light in the darkness and Bubbles found it mystifying to watch.

She had the perfect view of it from her office at the hospital. The corner office looked right out over the heart of the city. Bubbles liked to stare out over it whenever she worked a late shift. It was a good reminder of what she was working towards every day.

This city was a wonderful place. It might be plagued with protests and riots right now, but one day it was be peaceful and prosperous. She would work every day to do her part in making that dream a reality.

Bubbles leaned her head against Boomer's shoulder. "This is nice." She sighed happily.

"What do you mean?" It's just a regular army van, there ain't nothing special about it." Butch replied with a quirked brow.

Bubbles wasn't sure if he was serious or just fishing for a laugh. She gave him one regardless.

"I meant being together. All of us. It's been a while you know."

"Yeah, it has. Too long if you ask me." Buttercup said with a smile of her own.

"How long will you and Butch be in town?"

The Green Puff shrugged. "I'm not sure actually. I'm supposed to go to the Citadel tomorrow and get a debrief on what our next mission is. I think we'll have a day or two of down time. At least I hope we do." She leaned back against the van's side and rubbed her eyes. "I'm so tired."

Bubbles gave her a sympathetic nod. "I can imagine. Well I hope you get to stay for a bit. I want to hang out with you. You too Blossom. We need another sisters day."

"Indeed." Blossom replied warmly. "I think that will be possible, what with the conference and all."

"What conference?" Boomer asked.

Everyone mirrored his confusion as they turned their eyes towards Blossom. Even Brick and he was usually in the know.

"Yeah what conference Bloss?"

"The preliminary conference to the Leaders Assembly that's happening in a few months. You know, the reason why all these dignitaries are here right now?" The Pink Puff said as though it was obvious.

Bubbles had no clue however. It didn't strike her as odd to see foreign diplomats at the Museum's opening ceremony. There were usually a few of them. True there had been more than she expected this time around, but she honestly hadn't given it any thought.

"I thought they were just here for the Museum." Butch said, scratching at his cheek.

Blossom shrugged. "That's the cover. They are really here to hash out the issues that will be discussed at the Assembly. The goal is to find the best talking points to get to the heart of the issues that really matter right now. The Museum opening was just a good excuse to gather everyone here and avoid any scrutiny by the press."

"Killing two birds with one stone. How like our Mr. President." Brick muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't just the President's idea Brick." Blossom said intently. "Ms. Bellum had a hand in it too. They both thought it was the best idea given the state of the world. The last thing we need is to add more fuel to the riot fire by announcing the fact that ambassadors from all over the world are here."

Here she shrugged again. "And the Museum's opening presented a good cover for that. There's nothing wrong with making the most of a situation is there?"

Her counterpart sniffed and looked away. "I supposed not."

Blossom rolled her eyes and turned back towards Buttercup. "Anyways, the preliminary conference should keep the ATA Squad here for the remainder of the week. I hope you'll get some down time out of that, it's been too long since you've gotten some proper rest."

She spared a glance at Butch before he could protest his lack of inclusion. "You too Butch. I'm sure you both need it."

That seemed to satisfy the Green Ruff. He settled back down and nodded his head. "Damn straight. We haven't stopped since the day before last. We didn't even get a few hours to rest after we arrived in town. As soon as we got off the damn plane they had us suiting up for security detail at that stupid ass Museum. They treat us more like cargo than human beings."

Geez no wonder the two Greens looked so tired. Bubbles hadn't known they had been hurried along like that. The chances were that's how they always operated. The ATA Squad dealt with problems that no one else did so that meant the squad had to be ready at a moment's notice. It was a life of go, go, go.

She didn't envy Butch or her sister one bit. Her life was busy enough.

"Trust us the feeling is mutual." Brick muttered in response to Butch's complaint. "There too freaking much to do and not enough time to do any of it."

"Exactly!" The Green Ruff agreed. "We need a vacation yo. When do we get one of those Blossy? Isn't there some sort of regulation about that or something?"

Blossom shrugged. "I guess so. You'd have to talk to your supervisor about that. I only know about government employees."

"Yeah." Boomer chimed in. "We get six days off the first year and then additional six the following year."

"Oooo, aren't you so lucky. Not six whole days!" Butch twiddled his fingers before flicking them at the blond. "Come off it, I mean like a real vacation, like a fucking month or something. I could use a getaway like nobody's business."

"I'm afraid it's going to be a long time before any of us get a vacation like that Butch." Blossom replied. "There's just too much to do right now. We are in the middle of trying to solidify a government. We can't just take a month off to go sit on a beach somewhere."

"Why can't we? Didn't we pay our due when we took out Mojo? Shouldn't that afford us a week or two off?"

There was a bit of heat starting to brew in this discussion. Bubbles could feel the tension starting to build, layer by thin layer. It didn't surprise her. Butch was technically right when he said they all needed a vacation. They had been working long hours non-stop since the Alliance was formed, heck since the Resistance was formed actually. There were no breaks when it came to saving the world.

People could only work for so long without a break before they snapped. That included fighting as well. She had seen the effects of the decade long war against Mojo on veterans at her hospital. They were constantly bombarded by bouts of PTSD. Some days they couldn't even function, it was just too overwhelming.

She wondered if the six of them were under threat of falling into something like that. They had to have had some sort of trauma. One didn't fight a war and escape unscathed. But they all kept pushing it down so deep that no one would ever know.

Until one day one of them snapped that was.

She hoped that day was far in the future.

"Hey guys." Bubbles spoke up and drew attention to herself. "Why don't we talk about this later huh? Do we really want to argue over vacation right now? Isn't that a little silly? We haven't all be together in at least a month and a half. I want to know how everyone's been, what they've been doing! Blossom?"

She looked towards her eldest sister to kick things off. The red head understood the blonde's motive to derailing the previous conversation and gave her a grateful nod.

"Well, I've been planning the festivities for this week mostly. Coordinating with the city police and the military to get the proper security detail for the events today's grand opening." She shrugged a tiny bit. "Other than that it's been mostly the same day to day affairs trying to keep the government a float."

"Oh nice." Bubbles replied before looking at her sister's counterpart. "And you Brick?"

He shrugged, looking entirely unenthused about sharing time. "Same old shit. I'm still working in the lab. There's lots of stuff to do and everything is classified. That's it."

Bubbles sat there for a moment hoping the redhead would add more but he looked back at her stone faced. Not even a twitch as she flashed her puppy dog eyes at him. That man was somehow the only one who could shrug off its effects.

Seeing as he wasn't about to continue the conversation, the blonde decided it was her turn to talk.

"I've been really busy at the hospital!" She chirped. "We've finally got the third one for the district opening so that's taken some of the pressure off of our staff. I've only had to work two doubles this week."

"Wowee, ain't that something." Butch said sarcastically as he ground the toe of his boot into the van's floor.

Boomer elbowed him in the side. "Knock it off Butch. Let her speak."

The brunet rolled his eyes but directed his attention to Bubbles. "Sorry Sunshine, as you were saying?"

Bubbles smiled at his forced interest and continued on. "It's actually really exciting. This week was the first week that our numbers are down in cases of disease and malnutrition. And that's not only our hospital, that's for the whole city."

"Really? That's great." Blossom said brightly. "I'm sure the minister of health can't wait to tell the city council about that one."

The Blue Puff nodded happily. "Yeah, it's really good news. The food supplies are finally starting to stabilize and our supply of vaccines are no longer in the red level. I mean, we're still rationing but it's getting better."

Buttercup blew out a sigh and joined the conversation. "Geez, it sounds like were barely out of the third world county status. That's kina pathetic for a supposed super powered nation don't you think?"

"We're all third world nations right now." Brick surprisingly replied. "You and Butch have seen it first-hand."

"Yeah, but we should be different." Buttercup said as she nodded in agreement. "We're the fucking Alliance. We should have our shit figured out by now shouldn't we?"

"Rome wasn't built in a day Buttercup and neither is any other country." Blossom said. "In all honesty, third world status is something I'm more than willing to take right now. We're trying to avoid out right anarchy."

"It's just sad." The brunette Puff replied. "Butch and I go all over the world to stop threats and our home town is barely being held together. It's like a friggin' powder keg about to go off. We should be here with you guys."

"There's no denying that things are in dire shape Buttercup, but the work you and Butch do around the world is helping. It's where we need you. Fisher has the city well in hand." Blossom put a hand on Buttercup's shoulder. "One day you'll be home for more than just days at time, but for now we all have to do our part."

"Yeah, I know. It just sucks."

"It does, but more armed soldiers aren't going to fix this."

"Then what will Blossy? Cause it hasn't gotten any better in the last six months in case you haven't noticed." Butch groused.

"Infrastructure idiot." Brick replied, giving him a light smack on the arm. "Social programs and the like. People are upset because their needs aren't being met. We're trying to meet those needs."

"And we're getting better at doing that every day." Bubbles said before gesturing at Boomer. "Boomer and Ms. Keane have been doing great work in the Education Department. That's definitely been helping."

The Blue Ruff blushed as all the van's passengers turned their attention towards him. It was funny that he still blushed at being the center of attention, even with his family. It was also super cute. Bubbles hoped he never changed.

"Come on Boom, tell them what you told me yesterday. You were really excited about it."

"It's nothing really." He tried to shrug it off but everyone's attention had been peaked now.

"Ah just spit it out already Boom." Butch said. "Otherwise Sunshine is going to keep on pushing. She won't let up you know."

"Okay, okay." He held up his hands as if to ward off further attempts at persuasion. "Like I said it's not really a big deal or anything but Ms. Keane and I have gotten the city's fourth elementary school and high school programs up and running."

"Really?" Blossom asked with an intense interest.

She might have been focused on the world's political stage more often than not, but she still cared about what was happing in her city.

"I wasn't even aware you guys had gotten the third one up and running yet. That's great news."

Bubbles threaded her arm through Boomer's and pulled him tight for hug. "That's not all. Tell them the other thing hun."

He let out a soft sigh, growing even redder from the praise. "We have finally established a reliable chain of communications with nearby states. None of them really have any sort of education system to speak of, but we're working on a plan to get one set up. We're hoping that by mid next year we'll have half the country plugged into a national education system based from New Townsville."

"Oh wow, seriously?" No surprise, it was again Blossom who appeared to be the most interested in Boomer's news.

Neither of the Greens looked like they had any clue what education had to do with anything. And Brick, well he looked like he always did, lightly interested but not enough to care.

That was okay. At least Blossom cared about what Boomer was doing. Bubbles was proud of her man and the work he had been doing with Ms. Keane. He liked to push that he was just a secretary but Bubbles knew Ms. Keane relied on him for more than simply answering phone calls and filing papers.

"Yeah it's going really well. We're excited at the Department." Boomer answered Blossom's question with a small grin. "It's not much but it's a good start you know."

"And this is supposed to calm down the riots? Seriously?" Butch asked.

"Seriously Butch, think about it." Brick said as he leaned into explain. "I said people riot because their upset and their needs aren't being met. What are the three main needs that a society has to have met?"

Butch gave his brother a mystified shrug.

"Food for one." Buttercup threw in. "I've seen enough places go south because of a lack of it."

Brick sent her a nod of respect. "Yes, first priority is food. The second is healthcare and the third is opportunity for growth…or rather, a place in the community to contribute. People don't like being idle. You take care of those things and you have a pretty complacent population."

Here he leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. "I mean, just look at how Mojo ruled for so long. This city and practically every other one in his control was completely under his control. There were public executions, but that was reserved for deserters primarily. The regular populous just had to do what they were told."

The van fell silent as each Ruff and Puff took a moment to digest that unfortunate truth. It was true. Mojo had ruled over vast amounts of people and a surprising majority of them were content to play their parts.

If you thought about it long enough, you could sort of see their reasoning. Not every city was like New Townsville, but most of them had a functioning infrastructure. People could go to the hospital when they were sick. They could get an education under Mojo. Sure it was heavily stacked with propaganda but they could still learn. And there were always jobs for them.

Mojo had been a genius and it showed in the fact that he ruled for so long. If not for the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdy Ruff boys, he could have ruled indefinitely.

"It's a sobering thought right?" Brick continued. "People are used to how Mojo ran things. Our government either needs to run just like it, or drag it's populous out of that mindset. I'm sure all of us can pick the better option. "

He looked directly at Butch. "That's why education, and healthcare, and functioning services are so important Butch. You put those in place and I guarantee you all the riots and protests will stop."

"Okay, geez. I get it, I get it. Thank you Mr. Educational." Butch brought both his hands up in protest. "I didn't ask for a damn lecture."

"You could-" Before Brick could finish his sentence, the van slowed to a stop.

Bubbles looked out the front windshield to see the Inner Wall stretched out before them. It was the perimeter wall that surrounded the Citadel and its accompanying buildings, one of which included the living quarters for all government personal.

"Looks like we're here." She muttered as they pulled up to the security checkpoint.

Past the security point, the Citadel took up most of the view. It was still as awe inspiring as it was when she first beheld the building. The only difference was the banners decorating the front of it. The blue and gold of the Alliance stood out brightly against the dark stone, much different than the green and purple Mojo used to use.

The Citadel was the main center point for the Alliance government. When they had taken out Mojo, they had repurposed his headquarters for their own uses. It was hard to pass up given how secure the building was.

The Inner Wall was just the first part in a series of defenses that made this place one of the most secure in the world. There were turret guns and anti-aircraft defenses. She had even heard rumors of a sort of shield. No one really knew if that was true or not but even rumors were powerful in their own right.

The van pulled through the checkpoint and set off down the short road that led behind the massive building. Just around the perimeter lay several skyscrapers. They would impressive in their own right but being situated next to the Citadel made them seem small and almost insignificant.

Those buildings housed every person involved in the Alliance Government. It was undoubtedly the safest place in all of New Townsville. The only problem with it was how close it was to work for some.

Bubbles was thankful she got to work at the hospitals outside the Inner Wall. She didn't think she could stand being cooped up in here all the time. How did Blossom do it all the time?

The van came to a stop outside the tallest of the skyscrapers. A few seconds later the side door opened up and the Boys and Girls all piled out. Blossom thanked the driver as he got back in his vehicle and drove off.

Bubbles grabbed a hold of Boomers hand as they ascended the steps and fished out their badges. Even here inside the wall they had to pass through security checkpoints. A squad of the Alliance military stood outside the entrance and checked the badge of everyone who entered.

It was somewhat tedious but the blonde understood its necessity. These times were dangerous and the wellbeing of everyone had to be protected. If that meant being a little inconvenienced then so be it. Better safe than dead right?

Everyone passed through the last checkpoint and entered the living quarters. It was here that Bubbles finally felt safe. She could completely let down her guard and relax.

It was odd to think about wasn't it? She had lived in a warzone for a large majority of her life. She had always thought that when the war ended her paranoia would too. How wrong she was. If anything, it had only strengthened. None of the danger had gone away; it had simply taken a different form.

Instead of enemy soldiers, they all had to watch out for assassins and angry mobs. It was definitely far from what she had dreamed about for all these years. Maybe one day it would be different…

"So what's happening tomorrow Butters?" Butch asked as he laced his hands behind his head.

The Green Puff shrugged as she pushed a button for the elevator. "I'm not sure what you have to do but I have a meeting with General Davis at nine sharp. Probably to talk about security for this conference that's happening."

"But you didn't get any orders about me?"

"Nope, looks like you have a free day tomorrow."

"Ah yeah!" Butch pumped his fist in the air. "Lazy day tomorrow! Hell fucking yes! I'm going to do nothing but eat real food and sleep in and wear whatever the hell I want!"

Bubbles couldn't help but smile at his excitement. She sometime forgot that he was a career soldier. They were always told what to do and where to go. Having a day off to do whatever you wanted must have been amazing.

"Aiming high there Butch." Boomer chimed in a smirk.

His brother stopped doing his little victory dance long enough to push him playfully. "Hey you can come talk to me once you've been forced to eat MREs for every meal. Those things suck. I can't wait to get myself a real fucking burger. Oh man. I'm drooling just thinking about it."

Boomer laughed and shook his head. "Okay, well how about I come get a burger with you? I have the day off tomorrow too. We can go do something fun."

The Green Ruff grinned and then turned towards the last Ruff.

"Brother's day?" He asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Boomer turned around as well and gave Brick a manlier version of Bubbles' famous puppy dog eyes. They had been together for six months now; it was inevitable that he'd pick it up in some fashion.

Brick stared at his two brothers for a few seconds before shrugging. "I make my own hours. I suppose I can take the day tomorrow."

"Whoo!" Butch shouted as the elevator doors opened. "Brothers day! We're going to do all the things!"

"Like what?" Brick asked drolly as they all entered and hit the buttons for their floors.

The brunet shrugged off his brother's question. "Eh I'll figure something out, but you can bet your ass it's going to be epic!"

"I'm quivering with excitement." Brick replied as Boomer laughed out loud.

"Well just make sure you guys don't get into _too_ much trouble. We don't need an international incident right now." Blossom sighed.

Butch turned towards her and put a hand over his heart. "We would never Pinkie. Don't you trust us?"

Blossom gave him a sidelong glance. "On a good day perhaps."

"Oh, shots fired!" the Green Ruff cried as his other hand came up to clench his chest.

"Stop being so melodramatic. It's too late for that." Buttercup yawned.

"You're just mad cause you're going to be stuck in a meeting all day."

She somewhat nodded at her counterpart's accusation. "I might be done before five if I'm lucky Hey, you Girls wanna do something for dinner?"

Bubbles gave her sister a nod. "Yeah, I work at the hospital tomorrow but I can get an extra long dinner break."

"I should be able to get some time for dinner as well." Blossom replied as the elevator came to a stop.

"Awesome. Dinner it is."

The doors opened and the Girls got off, but not before Bubbles stopped to give her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips.

"Night sweetie."

"Night hun." He returned with another quick kiss.

And of course, Butch gagged at the sight. "Ugh! Get a room you two!"

"They aren't allowed to. Why do you think we live on different floors?" Blossom said with a small laugh.

The elevator dinged and the doors started to close as Butch stared at them gobsmacked. He quickly pushed his hands against the doors and poked his head out.

"Wait, wait, wait! _That's_ why we live on different floors? You're kidding right?" He asked, looking between Boomer and Bubbles.

A blush rose on Bubbles cheeks as she shook her head. "Nope, Professor's orders I'm afraid."

"Because we all know Boomer can't control himself." Brick added in a deadpan voice.

The blush on her face grew ten times brighter. A similar one painted Boomer's face as he tugged a laughing Butch back into the elevator. Even Brick let out a chuckle at the Blue's embarrassment.

"Alright, off to bed you guys. Come on Bubbles." Blossom commanded, grabbing the blonde's hand and tugging her off to their bedrooms.

"Night!" The Blue Puff called as she shot one last smile at her counterpart and threw a wink in for good measure.

The poor boy looked like he wanted to sink into the floor as he held up his brother who couldn't stop laughing. On his other side, Brick just stood there smirking.

Oh her poor Boomer. He was so going to get teased about that all day tomorrow. Thank goodness she wasn't going to be there with him!

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! So sorry this is late. I had to do some unexpected shifts at work this weekend so I didn't get a chance to finish and polish off this chapter. I think I'll move my update day to every other Monday since it seems that's the only time I have to finish stuff now. Saturdays are sooooo busy. Blah.**

 **Well enough about me and my complaining. I hope you guys liked the chapter! I know it's all kinda of slow right now but we have to set up the world and what's going on. Things will be picking up soon I promise!**

 **Thank you to all the reviewers this last chapter! You guys are amazing and I love you all!**

 **-Reviewer Recognition-**

 **Crazyformario, Scourge, STFUSAM, Aim13, MetallicalyLove, Lily, ROCuevas, Celestial Frost, DawnRed, TheFabulousLady, MarshmallowFluff, Jmaster4, AC 97, insanityisablessedgift, Kasumi96**

 **You guys are so awesome! And I promise once things chill out for me I'll start going back to my old Reviewer Recognition where I can answer questions and stuff. Probably after summer ends and my kid goes back into school XD**

 **And to all you fabulous silent readers out there, thanks so much for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate you guys!**

 **If you wanna stay up to date with the story be sure to follow it! Or myself as an author since I'm having trouble posting every Saturday. I'll get better I promise!**

 **Next Week: Plans for the conference are laid out and the Boys have a day to themselves! Chapter 4 – Boys just wanna have fun!**

 **Love you all! - Sandstorm**


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